The Sound of Music

The Sound of Music has music written by Richard Rodgers  with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and is based on the memoirs of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. It was the final musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein as Hammerstein died of cancer nine months after the Broadway premiere in 1959.

 It is one of the most popular movie musicals of all time and is still one of the most popular shows still being performed today. It has inspired audiences across the world and I have heard it said that it is unapologetically sweet and maybe even a little corny. As the show opens we see the nuns of Nonnberg Abbey going about their daily work before getting ready for prayers. Some of the nuns opening set of chants and songs were prerecorded and some were sung live, however there appeared to be problem with the balance of the microphones during the live singing as one or two voices could be heard above the others. This problem also persisted in the wedding scene which was unfortunate as these songs are very hard to sing due to the number of musical parts involved and it was obvious that the ladies had worked hard on them as the prerecorded numbers sounded lovely. Emily Towle gave us a delightful interpretation of Maria, she was forthright but also vulnerable and her singing voice suited the role. She also appeared to have a good rapport with the children. Jonathan Oracz was suitably assured as the strong-minded Captain von Trapp and there was an enjoyable comic performance from Stephen Glenn as the cynical impresario Max Detweiler. Carolina Garcia-Cox was very stylish as Elsa Schrader, her singing voice was nice to listen too suiting the part well, and she made the high notes appear very easy to sing. Allison Fox as the Mother Abbess gave a sympathetic motherly characterization and Tracy Heaton as Sister Berthe, Sandra Regan as Sister Margaretta and Jane Cleary as Sister Sophia gave nice supportive performances. I enjoyed their rendition of ‘How do You Solve a Problem like Maria’. Abigail Roberts as Liesl and Thomas Melling as Rolf gave us a pleasantly sung and danced ‘Sixteen going on Seventeen’ and Sarah Pilkington as Frau Schmidt the housekeeper and Ashley Hambrook as Franz  the Butler had good characterizations in their roles.  There were other small supportive  roles which were Herr Zeller played by Philip May who’s diction was clear as always, Mike Boyle as Baron Elberfield, Liz Walsh as Baroness Elberfield  and Joe Simmons  as Admiral von Schrieber.The children played by Henry Crompton as Friedrich, Lizzie Worrall-Kay as Louisa, Jacob Hodgson as Kurt, Yzabella Heyes as Brigitta, Abigail Moore as Marta and Myah Brookfield as Gretl played their parts with enthusiasm, looked good and sang well together, they also appeared to be enjoying themselves immensely.

The orchestra conducted by Musical Director Paul Stanley was supportive of the cast, played well and were not too loud. Congratulations should go to Stephen Pilkington, Howard Bates and the team of painters, builders, and Props for the very well built and painted colorful set.  The costumes also were bright and colorful and looked nice although I did feel that some of the nun’s habits were a little short.

The Sound of Music is a timeless, warm and wonderful musical as I am sure the audience will attest to as they appeared to enjoy this production and many were even singing along with the well known songs. Well done to Director Jean Horrocks and to all involved with this production.

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